The Villa, lakeside 2 bedrooms/full bath & kitchen/Great Swimming!

Wonderful way to spend a week!

We had a great time even with a few bumps. No where in the VRBO description does it clearly state that NO sheets or towels are included. A surprise first for us. We ended up having to rent sheets and towels and were not pleased with the additional cost. Please clarify your website.The other issue we encountered was that the owners have a pit bull that Darcy advised us was not friendly with children or small dogs. The dog is staked out where it commands 1/2 of the beach and you have to get past the dog to get to the boats that are included. Having a pit bull on high alert watching our granddaughter and our small dog was not the most relaxing thing. When we asked to have the dog moved, the owners complied nicely, but in a family situation like Crystal Lake, we should not have had this concern. Other than these bumps, we loved the place and we will plan to return next summer.

The cottage was spotlessly clean and just as described. The entire property is well-maintained and probably the best location and beach on the lake. The beach is sandy, clean, serene, has three little docks, and is shared with guests from the other cottages, so be prepared to socialize. Dogs are welcome and must be on leash at all times. We had to leave after two nights due to a medical situation so weren't able to enjoy the property as planned, so didn't swim.

We had a wonderful time staying in the Villa. It was clean and comfortable. The lake was clean and warm and the provided kayaks gave us plenty to do. Thank you!

This was a wonderful getaway that felt safe for our family during Covid. We chose this location to have access to the White Mountains with a lake front place to relax after hikes and on non-hiking days. It ended up that we weren’t able to hike as much as planned, so we were so glad to have such a wonderful lakefront place to be. Crystal Lake is clean and deep, perfect for long swims or playing at the dock and raft. They provide kayaks and canoes along with plenty of life jackets in many sizes. This was a perfect place for our dogs, as they were welcome on the beach with us and there were many other dogs. Darcy and Dave helped is right away to tell us the personalities of different dogs so that we were all able to manage peaceful intermingling. One consideration is that the cabins are close and no sound proofed so if you have dogs that bar at every little thing, you’ll have to manage that. We do so we kept them with us, but we know that about our guys. The cabin was clean and very well equipped. It had a washer and drier in the bathroom, and plenty of cleaning products and paper goods. The owners were extremely hospitable, all greeting us and going above and beyond to make us feel comfortable. Art is a great source of knowledge about hiking. We considered an indoor fire one night due to rain before we realized it would get too hot and Dave chopped kindling for us and brought it to our door. We had a lovely evening with everyone around a fire with cocktails and s’mores. You are sharing this property with a couple of other guests and Sue and Art’s family, but they are lovely people who go out of their way to take care of their guests and allow them their own space too.

My wife and our two boys, aged 2 and 4 were looking for a place close to a lake, but far enough away that our boys couldn’t simply run into the water. We didn’t want to be on top of a steep rock wall to get to the lake either. We wanted a place we could bring our family dog. We wanted a place that we could enjoy a good old fashioned family vacation. This place checked all the boxes. We had been to Winnipesaukee before and loved all it had to offer, but had found it hard to find a house to rent that offered all of the things we wanted while being in our price range. Not to mention that we wanted to have a nice beach on a lake. The beach at Crystal Acres is perfect for the children to play, the dog to enjoy and for my wife and I to go and sit in one of the Adirondack chairs and watch the kids in the refreshing lake against the most beautiful backdrop of the Belknap mountains. Both the Cloutman’s and other guests are respectful of others while being warm and appreciative that you chose their place to stay. They provide paddle boats, row boats, and life vests amongst other things for you to enjoy the lake. We don’t get as much time with our kids as we would like and I was so grateful to have taken my older one for a row boat ride onto the lake. It was the definition of family and/of father son bonding. There are 2-3 cabins/homes on the property so you will most likely see others on the property throughout the week. Everyone is very friendly while also being polite and respectful that everyone else is there for the same reason...their own vacation. We were lucky enough to have been there when the Cloutman’s had there daughter, son in law and 2 grandchildren there. They couldn’t have been a more accommodating family. Our children played together and we enjoyed their company, but they were also so attentive to letting us enjoy our family time. From the property we made regular trips to Alton bay, weirs beach, Harts, and to Storyland, and felt as if we were both in a secluded beachfront lake spot in a beautiful clean refreshing lake while being minutes away from all that Winnipesaukee offered. Our family is so grateful to have found this property and these hosts to have enjoyed our summer vacations the past 2 years. Time seems to slow down when you’re there. For a family that’s always on the move and doesn’t get to enjoy our own time together much, Crystal Acres gives us exactly what we need.

Our family had the most wonderful week staying in the Villa at Crystal Acres. The cottage itself was so cozy - the bathtub, laundry and TV with Netflix were a huge bonus for a family with three small children! The kids loved running around the property with Sue's (the owner's) grandchildren, jumping off of the piers, playing shuffleboard, digging moats in the sand with the large collection of sand toys, making s'mores in the fire pit, and touring the beautiful lake in the canoes, paddle boat, kayaks, various inflatable floats, and especially the kids kayak! Sue and her family were absolutely lovely, and we loved hearing about the history of the lake and the property - what a special place!! We felt like the cottage was just the right mix of being in a secluded, quiet location, while being within driving distance of civilization for grocery stores and little trips out to dinner or ice cream around the bigger lakes (we went to Weirs Beach, Wolfboro, to the Speedway in Loudon, and for a hike up Mount Major). Sue and her family have a wealth of knowledge and great recommendations for tucked away spots to check out around the area too. We can't wait for our stay on Crystal Lake next summer!

We really enjoyed everything about this stay. The owners were very helpful with anything we needed. The location was so peaceful and stress free. The lake is beautiful and having access to everything(paddle boats, canoes..) you need to have fun on the lake was a great bonus. We had no problems with the villa we stayed in and the enclosed porch was very nice also. We would recommend this place.

We use home away quite often and we rely on the reviews before renting a property. When I write a review I try to be very honest so there are no surprises. First of all the lake is beautiful, the best beach on the lake! Sue & Art are kind enough to allow use of all the kayaks, boats, floats ect. which we took advantage of. The cottage was clean, and well stocked for cooking. The cottages are as described and have a very authentic feel to them. There are tons of nearby activities, other lakes, places to eat ect. close by. Sue & Art are very nice, and right there to help should you require anything. That being said you should understand this is for families with kids . The owners are very close to the cottages which gives no sense of privacy.You REALLY need to be quiet after 10pm. 90%of the time it was just my husband & I. We did have friends up (4 people) all 40 yrs and older a couple of times. We were playing cards on the back porch laughing and talking , not whooping it up and were all in bed by 11pm on a Friday night. The next day we were told we had to keep it down because voices carry in the woods. We were very put off by this since we are very respectful of other people and were not playing music or being loud and obnoxious. After that we felt like we had to be very quiet and worry that we were disturbing others. There are NO locks on the doors. I inquired about this and Sue said nothing has ever happened. We were not comfortable with this as no-one can keep an eye on things at all times , especially at night. We also locked our computers ect in the car when we left the cottage and feel that locks are a must in today's society unfortunately. We understand the owners want to keep the old fashioned feel of the place, but we felt this needed mentioning. An under the sink water filter is a must. The odor of the water is really terrible. We honestly were disgusted by the smell. We know it's safe to drink , but you surely wouldn't want to! Spiders! If you have a phobia you will have an issue big time! Giant spiders are outside the screens at night. One of our friends was completely freaked out. A regular perimeter cleaning and bug spraying needs to be done on a regular basis. Overall I would recommend this HIGHLY to families with children for the reasons stated. Had other renters mentioned the issues we had, I would have looked for something more private.

We had a wonderful vacation at Crystal Acres this summer! We have 2 kids (under a year and 4 yo) and it was just a perfect spot to bring them to. The villa is just steps away from the lake, without the need to cross the street which was great for our daughter, we felt very safe. There are tons of sand toys and floaties on the beach which was a cherry on top! The beach is very kid friendly: shallow entrance, docks, clean sand, clean water. There are kayaks, a canoe, a pedal boat - everything you might want on a lake (life jackets are also provided)! We had a few nice walks (very stroller friendly) around the lake. The villa itself is very cozy, we loved the fireplace and the porch especially! We had a few rainy days, and we used them to explore the area around (the Weirs beach with the arcades was quite fun and Tilton was a good shopping experience). Sue, Art and their entire family were so welcoming and such nice people, it was really great having them closely! We can't wait to come back! Thank you so much for the wonderful week!